Monday Memories-Stolen Tapes

When I was in college, I bought the most awesomest walkman ever! No, it was truly awesome! You could put a tape into it and when it reached the end, it would automatically switch to play the other direction. I didn't have to push any buttons to make this happen, it just did it!

It also got amazing reception for BOTH AM and FM, it had weather channels and tv stations (although really, who wants to just LISTEN to the tv program, I want to SEE it!). It had more features than were necessary.

The funnies part? I only bought it because it was the cheapest one that was a tape and radio player. I totally made out on that deal.

I had an Amy Grant tape in there. It was Amy Grant "The Collection". When I moved home I let my mom borrow it for her walks (I was not going walking at that time, she would consistently walk, and she wanted something to listen to).

She loved my walkman, too; although, I think she might have loved it more because of the Amy Grant Tape in it. When I moved out it came with me. Actually, I don't think it came with me right away, I think it came with me only after I started riding the bus to work and needed something to do on the hour long trip. My mom graciously gave me my walkman back (with the Amy Grant tape inside it).

If I recall correctly, I did kindly get her another walkman and either copied or got her another copy of the tape.

I rode the bus to work because it was cheaper and much more convenient than driving. I had my own transportation, a truck actually at the time. However, I was working at SDSU and they charged for parking (yes even employees, it comes right out of the paycheck if you so desire). It was cheaper to get a bus pass (we got a discount at the SDSU ticket counter) and much more convenient as I didn't have to search for parking every morning.

Sure, it had it's downfalls; but in reality they were worth it. Yes, I had to change buses about 3 times; but I didn't have to sit in traffic. Yes, it took a bit longer to get to work; but only about 30 minutes longer. I was also able to read, play my math games, listen to the news, listen to my Amy Grant tape... It was actually great!

One Friday night in December when I got home, I didn't really want to cook so I got off the bus, walked up my driveway, got in my truck, threw my backpack (with my walkman) and jacket onto the front seat, and drove to the Mexican Fast Food place to get dinner.

When I got home, I just left my backpack and jacket in the truck, went upstairs, and relaxed in front of the tv settling in for the night.

The next morning, when the-now-husband-then-boyfriend-not-even-fiance-yet came to take me out to breakfast, we hopped into his truck and then, when he dropped me off I saw it...the front passenger door of my truck open, things strewn about in the truck from my glove box, and my heart sank.

Someone had broken into my truck. The took my favorite jacket! The one I had been wearing since my freshman year in college. The most comfortable jacket ever. The most waterproof jacket I had ever had! It wasn't bulky, but it was warm and comfy. It totally kept the rain off me when standing at the bus stop on a rainy night. It was awesome! I loved it! I have never found another jacket like it!

They also took my backpack. In it were the Christmas cards I was writing to everyone while I was on the bus. No one got cards that year. They tossed out my book, math games, and some other things. They took my Weight Watchers black "clutch" (for lack of a better word) that had all my original books and stuff...they dropped that on the next corner over.

It was a few days before I realized the most important thing: THEY TOOK MY MOST AWESOMEST WALKMAN WITH MY AMY GRANT TAPE IN IT!

Seriously! That is just WRONG! I don't know who was more upset, me or my mom, but we were both a little bit ticked off at them for doing that. I had never replaced that tape. I did buy a walkman, but only one that plays radio stations. That was really the time when everything was switching over to CD players and I have just never liked the bulkiness or unreliability of CD player walkmans.

I can tell you, though, that I MISS MY AMY GRANT CD! I have other CDs of hers, but I have to say that one was my absolute favorite.

Needless to say, this story came to mind to tell you because this weekend, my dear husband, whom I love more than life itself, downloaded the Amy Grant The Collection album onto my iPod Shuffle this weekend! I spent my time cooking in the kitchen singing those songs at the top of my lungs...I'm sure he's wondering what he got himself into.

Eventually, I will sing those songs at the top of my lungs on my walks, but when it's 70 degrees at 6 in the morning? Well, it just gets hotter as the day goes on.

So, do you have a favorite album? Do you have a favorite album that has been lost or stolen and you never replaced it but always wished you had? Have you ever had your car broken into and they stole your things?

The one you've all been waiting for

Well, it’s time for the long awaited scavenger hunt results! I got many varied and fun responses to each item on the list, which was my plan all along. So, let’s get to it, shall we?

1. A picture of your favorite place in your town. I have to say that while Wrighty’s was abundant in number (with this pink house being my favorite. I SO want to live there!)

Lucy’s was just as homey:

Ida’s probably impressed me the most…although that will probably never be ME on the side of that rock there. Yikes!

2. A picture of your favorite place in your town with you in it: Lucy managed to get many of these entries into her blog posts as well. So, if you follow her like I do (and I would expect all of my readers support each other…it’s about teamwork around here!) You have probably already seen her picture, but just incase:
Lucy http://lucyslifeinsuburbworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/hot-heavy.html

Wrighty, well combine Wrighty and Lucy and you might just have me in my dreams! Reading a book, in a hammock, out in the shade in the yard!

3. An interesting item on line that is GREEN. I have to say that while Wrighty’s was the most predictable:

Lucy’s was the most creative:

http://www.squidoo.com/naturalhealthwellness

Ida had to have my vote of my favorite this time around with this picture:

Come on, don't be jealous, you know this is your favorite, too!

4. A blog post about this contest and/or this blog. I must say Lucy wins this one with out a doubt. http://lucyslifeinsuburbworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/lucy-goes-back-in-time-to-win.html
Although, honorable mention goes to Wrighty for putting this contest on her sidebar: http://wrightysreads.blogspot.com/

5. A picture of exactly 5 balloons. Wrighty tried to suck up with combining Eeyore with the balloons (though he does have 6)and of course sent a picture of exactly 5 balloons.

Ida found a great picture with hot air balloons:

But Lucy really went all out and found a balloon clown to take a picture of. That’s dedication people!

6. A picture of Eeyore doing something fun. I can’t pick a favorite! Wrighty and Ida both sent in such great pictures…then again, I’m biased. Does Eeyore really ever take a bad picture?

7. A list of 3 examples that can be used as a weekly blunder. Did you really think that I was going to list these? NOT! I’m using these ones. You’ll have to check in with Discussing Semantics to see what was submitted here. Yes, I carefully planned out this scavenger hunt to give me some topics on other blogs…I’m a bit selfserving that way J I can say that everyone sent some great examples!

8. A minimum of 2 pictures for kids quips Friday photo. Another self-serving item. But you will all enjoy these so much, you’ll just have to tune in to Kids Quips every Friday (and everyday inbetween) to check out the results of this item. Again, Wrighty, Lucy, and Ida all submitted for this one.

9. A favorite healthy recipe. I will say that Lucy and Wrighty both submitted for this one. I didn’t intend this to be self serving, but as I discovered that these recipes are LONG. Too long to include in a post this length already, so I have decided to make them part of my Monday Method posts on my weight loss blog. You’ll have to check in there!

10. A picture with the name Jenni/Jen/Jennifer in it. Well, I guess it’s true…Jenni’s are a bit of a sex object, I'm talking the Playboy Mansion and Hoochie Mama comes to mind. I mean, that’s what I get from these two from Wrighty:

Ida, however, redeemed me a bit

11. A picture of a puppy that you think is worthy of the name “Sirius”
While Ida submitted this cute little guy:

I think Wrighty is in love with puppies as much as I am. She submitted THREE puppies:

This last one would be the best candidate:

BLACK, I was looking for an adorable BLACK puppy (gotta read Harry Potter to get that one)

12. A floor plan of the perfect 3 bedroom apartment. Yes, I am jealous of these apartments that Wrighty and Lucy sent in. I mean, do you SEE this size of these kitchens!?!?

And look how absolutely ROOMY these are! Lucy gets bonus for finding one in the San Diego area. Wish we could afford it, but I may just go drool over it anyway:

13. A picture of a unique Coca-Cola item. Wrighty gets the award for abundance again, and some pretty awesome items…I so want that table in my dream kitchen

Lucy gets the award for the common but the uncommon story:

"My picture is of two glasses. Not necessarily the most unusual. I do have background that makes it a little quirky. My daughter has an odd obsession with glasses and she especially loves the small Coca-cola glasses. We found them one year at the fair. I grabbed them thinking they would be nice for juice. Maddie fell in love with them and I couldn't keep them clean, so the next year I grabbed as many as I could because I could not find the little ones anywhere. Then, the following year they had the other size and Maddie just thought they were sooo cool, so we had to grab them, now, you can get that size at other places But Maddie just thinks these glasses are cool and she loves to drink out of them, especially the little ones. I'm telling you, kids are odd and we do odd things for our children." (me thinks that one day Maddie may just have her own dream Coca Cola Kitchen...they have all sorts of nice dishware as well...I'm just saying! We have two full sets!)

Ida wins this one hands down. Wouldn’t you love to have those checks? I mean, I would totally frame those and hang them in my dream kitchen!

14. A picture of you shopping at WalMart/Target. Well, I must say that Wrighty is the only one to submit for this one. And, I don’t know that anyone could have topped it because THIS is hilarious and creative!

(If you can't read it, the quote says, "We usually shop in the comfort of our own home but the bloody computer crashed!")
Then she added these just for fun:

No really, you just might need to get out of the house more! I thought I had a problem breaking away from the whole computer and blogging thing; but I am dropping my membership to bloggers anonymous now and offering it to Wrighty…if you want it. No, really, this is now an intervention!

15. A picture of your favorite “family time” event. So many happy families!

Now, those look like some fabulous times! Family reunions, slumber parties, sending kids off to college, and so many more stories! Thank you all for sharing!

16. A story on your blog about your favorite childhood memory. What can I say? I love reading about your memories. These are great stories and you should all go check them ou!
Lucy's is here: http://lucyslifeinsuburbworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/lucy-goes-back-in-time-to-win.html
Wrighty shared here: http://wrightysreads.blogspot.com/2008/12/for-my-birthday-boy.html
http://wrightysreads.blogspot.com/2009/05/happy-birthday-to-my-littlest-boy.html

17. A list of 3 favorite sayings. Hm, which one is my favorite? I don’t know! There are some great ones here!
Lucy included hers on her blog posts: http://lucyslifeinsuburbworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/hot-heavy.html

"Its the Economy Stupid"

"This too shall pass"

"My Final Answer"

Wrighty:

Life is too short for drama and petty things, so kiss slowly, laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly.

Inside every older person is a younger person –
Wondering what the hell happened.

Life is not measured by the number of breathes we take but by the moments that take your breathe away.
- Maya Angelou

Be who you are and say what you feel,
Because those who mind don’t matter,
And those who matter don’t mind.
- Dr. Seuss

Sometimes we have to choose between what is right and what is easy.
- Albus Dumbledore

Powerful woman’s motto:
Live your life in such a way that when your feet hit the floor in the morning, Satan shudders and says…
“Oh shit… she’s awake!!”

Ida-Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.

Commitment is a line you must cross...it is the difference between dreaming and doing

Everyone is crazy except me and thee. Sometimes I wonder about thee, sometimes I wonder about me.

Be afraid, be very afraid.

We're going to have to get a bigger boat

18. A summary of your favorite book (bonus on your blog). Well, Everyone came through on this one, too. Books books everywhere. And now that I finished the one that was pulling me away, I have a few more to choose from!
Lucy-http://lucyslifeinsuburbworld.blogspot.com/2009/06/painted-house.html

Wrighty-http://wrightysreads.blogspot.com/2009/04/review-everyone-is-beautiful-by.html

Ida-Well, she put one of my favorites, I've read it several times, never straight through: THE BIBLE

19. A link to the strangest item you can buy on line Hm, I’m thinking that you all went out of your way. Lucy and Ida had the same resource, but different crazy items.

But I think Wrighty wins this one. Seriously! We might just want one of these around here…kidding! Totally kidding! But you know SOMEONE has said that. There’s a market somewhere for these, right?

Although, Lucy get’s honorable mention for thinking of me, oops I mean my BFF, on this one: http://www.uncommongoods.com/item/item.jsp?itemId=17865

Ida actually admitted that she owns one of these crazy chicken hats: http://www.disturbingauctions.com/view.php?item=96

I'm not sure what to think of that...I'll blame the grandkids for right now, though. Let's hope that a loving 4 year old bought it for their chicken loving grandparent...that just makes it totally sweet and not at all crazy!

20 A link to the strangest story you can find on line. Last, but certainly not least, are your weird stories. I gotta say, my favorite is the the cat. That’s just strange!
Wrighty-cat with 4 ears http://www.thatsweird.net/picture48.shtml
Lucy- http://www.thatsweird.net/picture46.shtml

Ida-Tree Man who grew 'roots' offered hope of new life by doctor http://www.thatsweird.net/news48.shtml

Okay, how was that for a super long post! I hope the three of you who participated enjoyed that because I sure did. Of course, I didn't have to do anything. Well, until all the items were sent in. Let me tell you, putting this post together was WAY more work than I had anticipated. But it was totally worth it!

You all did such an awesome job, worked so hard, got some major bonus point on the creativeness in your answers. Here's how I worked out the points you earned:

Ida, I gave you an even 100 because, heck, you may have been the last one to submit, but you weren't even planning to submit at all and managed to get some awesome things in there.

Lucy, I gave you 115. You put MAJOR work into this, HUGE thought, and I love that! You also seemed to really enjoy this! You were the first one to get a jump on things and I loved seeing your answers trickling in!

Wrighty, well, you were the only one to get all 20 items. That's worth something, right? You also went all out and gave me several options for many of the pictures items I asked for. Plus, the laughs! Oh how my sides hurt! I'm giving you 130 points!

The three of you are way ahead now, everyone else will have to be putting on their game faces now because, it is on! Scoreboard will be updated later to reflect everyone's scores!

I do hope you enjoyed yourselves; I know I did! Now, it's time for me to take a bit of a break. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Let's get started a bit, shall we?

First, the long awaited answer to the close up picture:
That, my dear readers, is ME!!! NOT Michael Jackson, NOT some strange wig stand! I might just be slightly insulted...if I couldn't see the humor in things; which I CAN see the humor in things so I am completely NOT insulted. Don't ask why I chose that picture, it was all I had to work with at the time.

Next is the very tricky, very complicated Two Truths. I went back, I reviewed, and I decided it was a bit too tricky. Therefore, everyone who took a gander at answering, earned 10 points a piece.

Now, let me summarize. The dog DID once, and only once, catch a baby skunk. However, that was NOT the reason that my mom needed to throw cash at me and tell me to quickly leave the house. That was not the one (of many) occasions in which we were kicked out of school/work.

Yes, that really did happen. However, the cause of it was actually a skunk being chased under the house by a neighborhood cat. The spray quickly came in through the vents and I quickly made my way out the house...not quick enough.

Oh, and that one time that the dog was sprayed by that baby skunk she caught? Yeah, it was the beginning of the end for her health wise. Yes, every time after that whenever she got wet she did smell like wet skunk. It was really kind of sad. There was no getting rid of that.

So, Lucy, Wrighty, Ida, you all earned yourselves 10 points each for that.

Then there is my weekly blunder that, well, I blundered :) I forgot to hide the comments from all of you but I am going to give you all the benefit of the doubt and give you all the full 8 points a piece.

So, before my next post (which will summarize our awesome Scavenger Hunt) I have your points added for the week as follows:
Wrighty 26
Ida 21
Lucy 18
Tracy 8
Kim 8

Where I have been

Around the block a few times, it feels like. I know, I know, I haven't put up the answers to the close up OR the two truths. I haven't even done a summary of the long awaited Scavenger Hunt results. All I can do is humbly bow my head and tell you I am sorry.



I can't even say that things have been crazy, they haven't. They've just been busy. I'm not over worked and stressed, just busy busy busy going here and there.



So this weekend there will be a break in contests and a full update in points, scavenger hunt, and fun. I figure we all need a mental break, right? No? Just me? Okay then, I need a mental break.



I may be back tonight, I'm not sure though. I will most definitely be back tomorrow, maybe with the answer to the close up or the two truths...maybe both. We'll see. I'm not making any promises because I'm just not sure.



Oh, and don't hate me that one of the reasons that I have been busy busy busy is that I can't put this book down:

No, really, I literally can't put it down. It's a sickness really. I actually choose to read this book rather than be updating my blog. The other day, I knew I was going to have some down time between work and weight watchers meeting, so I brought the book with me to read (normal, right?) What's NOT normal is that I was cursing every green light I passed on the way into work and on the way to the meeting. I actually WANTED red lights so I could just read two more sentences. That's all I want, just two more sentences!

I have read many (not all) of the books in this series. This one in particular has become my all time favorite book ever! And I'm not even done with it yet. I seriously can't put it down! I don't know why I haven't finished it yet. Maybe because I really only get to read for about 5 minutes at a time. Maybe it's because I am savoring every single word she has written on the pages. I don't know. But this story has me hooked! I would highly recommend it for any of you who like the whole murder mystery stuff...skip over the lovey dovey scenes if you don't like those (they are very rare) but Creation in Death by J.D.Robb (Nora Robert's pen name) it is on my must read list.

Do you have a favorite book? Have you read this book? Have you read any of the "in Death" books by J.D. Robb? What do you think of them?